"The half-baked theory behind the case is that the group's payments to confidential informants within hate groups amounted to a vast conspiracy to manufacture hate crimes to justify the SPLC's own existence."
"In reality, SPLC pays informants to gather intel on hate groups, which it then shares with law enforcement, in order to undermine those groups."
"The government turned to the little used bank deception statute - 18 U.S.C. § 1014 - that criminalizes knowingly making false statements for the purpose of influencing a bank's action on an application, loan, or agreement."
The DOJ's indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) claims that payments to informants within hate groups constitute a conspiracy to manufacture hate crimes. This assertion is criticized as absurd, as the SPLC's payments are intended to gather intelligence on hate groups to aid law enforcement. The indictment also misapplies bank fraud laws, using a rarely invoked statute to accuse the SPLC of deception related to opening a checking account for the safety of informants. This approach sends a troubling message to extremist groups.
Read at Above the Law
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